Bengaluru Mall Ordered To Shut Temporarily For Denying Entry To Dhoti-Clad Farmer

Bengaluru: A shopping mall here which denied entry to an elderly farmer for wearing a dhoti has been ordered to shut down for a week.

Explaining the state government’s decision after Tuesday’s incident at GT World Mall sparked outrage on social media, Karnataka Urban Development minister Byrathi Suresh said there was a provision under the law for such an action.

“I just spoke to one of our former BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) commissioners. The government has the provision under the law to shut down the mall for seven days,” Suresh told the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday.

An FIR has been registered against the mall owner and the security guard who stopped the man wearing a ‘panche’ (dhoti) from entering the mall despite having booked movie ticket.

The case has been filed under Section 126 (2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (defines wrongful restraint as the voluntary obstruction of a person, preventing them from proceeding in any direction they have the right to).

“This is an insult to the farmers,” the complainant said seeking action against the mall owner and the guard.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the civic body sealed the mall over property tax dues totalling Rs 1.78 crore. A civic officer was quoted as saying that the mall failed to pay property tax dues for the financial year 2023-24, even after a notice was issued by BBMP.

Fakirappa, hailing from Karnataka’s Haveri district, was visiting his son in Bengaluru.

They purchased tickets to watch a movie at the multiplex theatre of the mall, but were stopped at the entrance of the mall on Magadi Main Road on Tuesday evening.

A video of the man and his son appealing to security staff to let them in went viral. The security staff told them that the mall’s policy prohibits entry to individuals dressed in dhoti.

Netizens blasted the mall authorities for such a policy.

BJP attacked the Congress-helmed state government, calling it ‘anti-farmer’.

“Under Karnataka Congress govt patronage, farmers are being abused and insulted for wearing Dhoti? Banned entry in a mall! The Karnataka CM wears a dhoti! Dhoti is our pride… Should a farmer wear a tuxedo in a mall?” party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla wrote on X.

“They even increased prices of diesel and betrayed farmers. Now they are insulting farmers by denying entry in Dhoti. Where is Rahul Baba? Is this Kisan ke saath Nyay?” he added.

Pro-Kannadiga organisations and farmer outfits also staged protests outside the mall.